Aurora, USA, 27 February 2007 – The Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) have posted the preliminary program for the Emerging Technology Summit (ETS) IV, focusing on information system interoperability standards, such as Building Information Models (BIM). The event is slated for March 21-23 at the Melrose Hotel in Washington, D.C.

ETS IV has been organized to provide CIO’s, technology managers in government, and business leaders in the AEC industry an opportunity to better understand the breadth and current and future benefits of convergence. The ability to discover, access, integrate, and apply data from AEC-CAD products, geospatial products and BIM products in 3-D offers the potential for improving decision-making for users across the entire building life cycle from conception to decommissioning.

“In determining ETS IV program content, we’ve tried to step back and look at technology and standards challenges from a variety of perspectives. We are fortunate to have an excellent list of speakers who represent this important level of diversity,” said Mark Reichardt, President of OGC.

OGC and GITA have collaborated on three previous ETS presentations: I – Location Based Services, II – GeoWeb Services, and III: Advancing the Sensor Web. ETS IV is planned to be the next in this series and address the issues of Web Services and the convergence of Building Information Modeling, CAD, 3-D and geospatial. The National Institute for Building Sciences and the Web 3D Consortium have signed up as collaborating sponsors of ETS IV.

“The line-up for this event has all the unique qualities of a forum that will help drive the direction of our industry,” Bob Samborski, GITA Executive Director, said. “Whether you’re just beginning to explore open standards or have worked with them for years, you’ll want to attend.”

Full details about the ETS and online registration are available at www.gita.org/ets